In her latest book, performer and author Bennett (Get It Done) offers an antidote to feeling overwhelmed. By making small changes such as turning complaints into requests, stopping imaginary arguments, and allotting time for creativity, people can engage opportunities for growth and happiness. Tackling the demons of clutter, fearful thinking, and more, each chapter concludes with motivating “Little Changes Action Steps. 

​VERDICT: This comprehensive book supplies a wealth of simple exercises that anyone can use to break out of an emotional quagmire and begin to live fulfilled.

Library Journal

Sam Bennett brings a witty, sunny demeanor to her work as a Carpinteria business owner, artist and author of two self-help books.

Bennett calls herself a “creativity productivity expert.” She founded The Get It Done workshop, which turned into The Organized Artist Company, and authored “Get It Done” and “Start Right Where You Are.”

All are extensions of her mission to help creative people (and she believes everyone is a creative person) get their work into the world through internet marketing, project management and workshops.

The Organized Artist is internet-based, though Bennett holds in-person workshops. She assists clients from beginning to end, from making the decision of which project to pursue, to getting through the “Groan Zone” in the middle of the project when it becomes hard to stay motivated, to ending when all the hard work has paid off and the question is “What do I do now?”

She published “Get It Done” in 2014, which addresses practical, tangible ways to help readers start and finish their projects. “Start Right Where You Are,” published in November, focuses on the inner emotional work necessary to being productive and, more importantly, happy.

​“Start Right Where You Are” has fared well so far, she said. It’s been sold at nontraditional sellers like FedEx/Kinkos, which recently bought 3,400 copies. She’s received good press from Self Magazine, ReadersDigest.com and PsychologyToday.com as well.

“Start Right Where You Are” is structured into two-to-three page chapters to give readers soundbites of paradigm-changing encouragement at a manageable length. The book is marketed toward “overwhelmed procrastinators, frustrated overachievers, and recovering perfectionists.”

Bennett said her book could be particularly helpful to businesses.

“One thing that I would say to professionals in all fields is that we feel better when we’re creatively expressed. Even if you work in a cubicle, find ways to be creative — ask, how can I make this moment more me?” This means being present and aware of the moment in each email, interaction or meeting.

Bennett said she has a business-based book idea in the works, based on Stoic philosophy with a “feminine” twist. She wants to incorporate the idea that a happy life comes from the inside, regardless of one’s circumstances.

She’s originally from Chicago, where she worked as an improv actor before attending school at UC Santa Cruz and then Northwestern University. She left school to pursue acting full-time in LA at The Second City comedy club.

“Creatively, it was a great time,” she said. “But financially, it was disastrous.” Eventually, after nine years in LA, heartbreak drove her to Carpinteria.

She said of how the Central Coast affected her writing, “You know how in New York and LA, everybody has a lot of drive — they’re moving a hundred miles an hour and trying to be famous now. But if you go to rural Kentucky, it’s the opposite — slow, and nothing’s changed since 1979. Carpinteria is a nice mix between those two energies.”

​Bennet said her time as an improv actor taught her how to be professionally successful — she was driven by “sheer force of will.”

She also attributes her success to being open to learning. When she started The Organized Artist, she didn’t know anything about running a business, but she went to conferences and learned.

Her parting words of advice?

“Understanding the creative dichotomy, that there are two equally opposite and true factors of success — you have to work hard and be structured, but also go with the flow when the time is right. What matters most — what makes businesses succeed — is authenticity, story and service. You can learn the tips, tricks and lingo along the way as long as you have those three things.”

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